Google (News - Alert) Plus is unquestionably the fastest growing social network the Web has ever seen, but for many it still feels a little alien when compared to Facebook or even Twitter (News - Alert). Plus is projected to hit 400 million users by the end of the year, which is up there, but Facebook expects to have more than twice that in the same time.   

A lot of people see Google’s social network as nothing more than a regurgitation of Facebook (News - Alert), which is pretty spot on, but considering the age of Plus along with its constantly evolving nature, it still has a lot of potential to be the next big thing. Look at MySpace (News - Alert) for example – that was the flagship social networking site that everyone was using not too long ago. But when it started to change, people began to transition over to Facebook. Fast forward to current time and now Facebook itself is starting to make those same gambles in the way of appearance.

Google Plus received a major facelift earlier this week – making it appear more like a mobile app, without subtracting from the whole desktop experience. The overall design definitely gives it more of a Web 2.0 feel, and the left-aligned control panel makes for a much more elegant, simplistic means of navigation.

In its early days, Plus really seemed like it was trying to mimic Facebook as closely as possible – that could be one reason why the majority of Facebook’s population haven’t yet made the transition over. What’s the point in joining yet another social network if the only difference is that of appearance? Sure, Plus has Circles, and even a free sort of alternative to Skype (News - Alert), but that’s not reason enough for the bulk of other popular social sites to jump on board.

Google’s pitch for the social network sounded great; with circles, hangouts, a gaming feature that wasn’t so spammy like Facebook’s has become, as well as integration with its plethora of other services. However, it was a bit of a disappointment when the first public beta was released and it looked like Facebook’s ugly cousin. Though it had great features, its method of delivery wasn’t very pretty.

This new interface could actually play a tremendous role in raising the eyebrows of potential users. In contrast to the “old” Google Plus, this revamped version feels like a huge step up from Facebook, and up to par with Twitter’s fairly new look too. What’s more, it finally feels unique – it has a sense of personality now, rather than just providing users with a Google branded, nearly exact replica of Facebook.